This invention relates to an electrical system for transmitting power to a plurality of drive units which fold or extend rows of seats or benches arranged in a telescopic seating system.
Various devices are known in the art for extending or retracting bleachers, such as may be found in an indoor athletic facility. U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,172 to Quigley teaches a powered drive apparatus which folds and unfolds rows of bleachers and which is adapted to fit almost entirely beneath a deck of the lowermost row. However, no electrical system for driving more than one apparatus at a time is disclosed. U.S. Pat. No. 3,052,929 to Busse discloses a power actuated bleacher assemblage and suggests using multiple motor units which are simultaneously operated by a single reversing switch; however, the connections between the switch and the units are not specified.
Typically, components of a motor driven bleacher assemblage, tested individually but not as a system, are shipped to the installation site, requiring personnel to both erect the structure of the bleachers and to perform all wiring associated with connections to the motor units. This often requires installation personnel to manually strip ends of wires and establish electrical connections according to a set of instructions. This has proven time consuming, resulting in significant costs borne by the owner of the installation site. Furthermore, such an owner must rely on the expertise of the installation personnel, who may not be a registered electrician, thereby raising a question as to whether quality of the electrical connections may be assured. Moreover, lack of testing components of the motor driven units of the bleacher assemblage as a system presents the risk that the components, although tested and approved individually, may not perform as desired when comprising a part of an overall system.